History of The City of Cocoa, Florida

            Around 1860, the first families who was with the fishermen, found the great city of Cocoa. The Magnolia point was the place where the post office was launched with the first commercial building of the city which was built on the year 1881. While on 1882, the new settlement’s plans were formulated as the “Indian River City” which Captain R. A. Hardee owned. Stating that the name was extremely lengthy for a postmark use, the U.S. Postal authorities did not accept the name Indiana River City.

         On the year 1925, numerous of reader-supplied accounts for the town’s naming was printed by the Cocoa Tribune. At a town meeting on 1884, suggesting a name, Captain R.C. Maywww.mysafehomeinspection.com was credited by a reader. Due to Captain May’s recommendation, with the town’s association with the Cocoa tree, the community has chosen “Cocoa” for the town’s name. This name was then submitted to Washington D.C in which it was approved. There were a lot of rumors and stories about how the city got its name, some say that a box of baker’s cocoa served as an inspiration of an old woman, others say that an old woman who was providing the sailors who traveled near the river hot cocoa; calling out cocoa as they pass by till the old woman give them refreshment. Though the city has not proven any origin of the name, by 1884 the city’s name was always associated with an infant settlement.

        Opened on 1885, still the S.F. Travis Hardware store is running its business in this year, 2011.

          Though the Cocoa’s business district was ruined by a tragic fine on the year 1890, extension to Cocoa of Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Indiana River Railway had a major development happened in the after years.

               During the year 1895, the Cocoa City was chartered. And in 1894-1895 winters, The Great Freeze which the city of Cocoa agonize where it lead the city to the second severe setback in the economy and destroyed a huge amount of citrus crop that forced a lot of citrus workers to seek new occupation. By 1903, Cocoa’s population dropped to 382 as reported by one source.

Development of the economy and population growth was soon accelerating in the second decade of 20th century at Cocoa. On 1911-1912, the population of Cocoa was set to 550 by the state business directory. Population was estimated reaching the number of 1,800 people by 1925. During the local economy decline, his city experienced the Great Depression which let two local banks failing. But still the population rose to 2,200 by the end of 1930.

The development of the industry of space was followed by the enormous growth of population which rose dramatically that from the 1940’s population of 3,098 people was quadrupled to 12,224 by the year 1960. The launch of Cape Canaveral which witnessed by thousands of people who visited the area, the city of Cocoa and all the surrounding places was for the first time became integrated with the industry of tourists. Growing faster and faster, the population of Cocoa grew to 16,096.

            Before then, there was segregation on the education until the schools were closed on the 1960’s, Monroe High School and the black student’s elementary schools.

          As the result of the Colt 45s baseball training on spring and games of The Grapefruit League, the Cocoa city then built the Cocoa Expo Sports Center or was called the Cocoa Stadium where these events was held on 1964. The Team was then called the Houston Astros. Needing repairs for the attempted upgrade of the stadium, the city asked the Astros for financial support in the early 1980s. The Astros then responds by moving their training to the Osceola County Stadium at the Kissimmee, Florida in 1985. Therefore, it was agreed that the county government would be responsible for the future negotiations with the major league teams.